Hyatt Regency Dushanbe Review

The Hyatt Regency Dushanbe is located in the grounds of the excellent City Park, just about one mile from the city center. The building really stands out because of its modern architecture both inside and out.

Check-in was super-friendly and in English. The staff reminded me very much of the excellent Hyatt staff in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. They were able to explain my reservation details (Points + Cash) and benefits without the confusion or riddles that many front desk staff have at multiple non-Hyatt properties.

After just a few minutes, I entered my room on the sixth floor. The room was fantastic and huge, well cooled down and was completely free of clutter. The light switches made sense and it was super-easy to settle in.

One thing that wasn’t ideal was the internet, which was just about 0.8 Mbit – way too slow for a Hyatt! Initially, most of social media was blocked but on the second day a VPN seemed to have been installed and unblocked all sites, but it didn’t help that speed.

The bathroom area was excellent, with a big walk-in rain shower and a bath tub. There was so much space in the bathroom that it was the same size as a whole room in other hotels.

I loved the bed, which was firm and the bed sheets were fantastic.

There was a turndown service every day, which replaced towels, closed the curtains and set the AC temperature a bit lower.

The Regency Club is located on the 11th floor. It was a big letdown as the selection of drinks was minimal (e.g. 4 bottles of beer for the whole dinner service) and there were few appetizers, which were poor in quality.

This theme extended to breakfast, with a spread that resembled more a Hawaii Hilton (which easily have some of the most ‘fake’ breakfasts) than a Hyatt. Most items were of low quality, the coffee was terrible and the juice came from a Tetra Pak. Even the freshly-made pancakes were bad.

Tajikistan is not a foodie destination, but Hyatt should still be able to source quality ingredients. Life is too short for stale bread, old cheese and badly-cooked pancakes and omelets.

The property also has a huge health club in the basement, which features a sauna, steam bath and a fully-equipped gym. It’s extraordinarily confusing to find, but it’s pure joy to use.

In conclusion, this property could have been really great; it has lovely ‘hardware’, super-friendly and knowledgeable staff and a building that stands out. However, I can’t understand why the lounge and breakfast need to be such letdowns. My query as to why there would be no breakfast served at the Regency Club was answered with, “Too many guests have sneaked in without being eligible”. I countered that with why there is no door with a keycard reader then, which just got me an empty stare.

The property charges $250-$300 per night and is popular with foreigners working in the city (including many of the American Embassy employees). It’s a Category 2 property and I had used 4,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points and $55 per night.